A Summer of Pondering Family Prospects and US Foreign Policy Challenges?

Robert Rabil, Ph.D.

My summer was fruitful, insightful, and family-oriented. Besides spending quality time with my family, I undertook significant research based on primary sources in various languages and interviews with officials, analysts, and activists. As a result, I wrote a number of articles in major outlets. My articles in the Palm Beach Post and Eurasia Review dealt with the unfolding situation in southern Syria and its ramifications for the security of Israel. As I analyzed, Israel came to agree with Russia over the Syrian regime deploying back next to Israel’s border including in Syrian Golan Heights. I expressed doubt that Russia could force Iran from Syria.

I wrote two articles in the National Interest dealing with the threat of terrorism. One article dealt with the expansion of Salafi-jihadi operations and the growth of their transnational networks on many continents. I urged the Trump Administration to keep fighting terrorism a priority. In the second article I highlighted the fact that ISIS and al-Qaeda have not been defeated in Iraq and Syria. I also underscored that ISIS, al-Qaeda and sister Salafi-jihadi organizations have launched a concerted propaganda campaign to incite Muslims in the West to carry out terror attacks on vital Western interests. I argued that this campaign reveals that not only Salafi-jihadis are cooperating to attack the West but also adapting to new military configurations, including in Iraq and Syria.

I wrote two articles in the Washington Post. One dealt with the misconstrued concept of jihad and the other on the emergence of an Iranian-Russian-Turkish axis in the Middle East. I argued in the first article that jihad as a concept in Muslim society has been exploited by extremists to justify their terror. I argued in the second article that the Trump Administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East is unwittingly bringing Iran, Russia and Turkey together. I highlighted the point that these countries have historically felt vulnerable to secessionist movements, which compels them today to cooperate together even if they embrace different outlooks for the Middle East.

I also wrote two articles for the Washington Institute, which were translated to Arabic. I wrote about the development of jihad and takfir in the Sunni and Shi’a conceptual frameworks. I underscored the ideological difference and nuances of jihad in the Sunni and Shi’a communities and examined the ramifications of Sunni and Shi’a jihad for the West, especially United States.

To view the articles, click on the links below.

• ISIS Isn’t Dead Yet — The National Interest, September 1, 2018.
• Contextualizing Jihad and Takfir in the Sunni Conceptual Framework — The Washington Institute, August 31, 2018.
• Contextualizing Jihad and Takfir in the Shi’a Conceptual Framework — The Washington Institute, August 31, 2018.
• Donald Trump is reshaping the Middle East — in Russia’s favor — The Washington Post, August 22, 2018.
• The distortion of Islam that drives terrorism — The Washington Post, August 1, 2018.
• Trump Should Prioritize Fighting Terrorism — The National Interest, July 18, 2018.
• Assad’s Impending Victory Raises Stakes for Security in Israel — The Palm Beach Post, July 16, 2018.
• Syria’s Victory and Israel’s Predicament — Eurasia Review, July 12, 2018.
• The Last Thing The Middle East Needs Now Is Another War – OpEd — Eurasia Review, May 1, 2018.

Dr. Rabil will be presenting the following one-time lectures and course.

Critical Challenges to Trump’s U.S. National Security Strategy (Course)
Mondays, Starting Oct. 15, 2018
9:45 a.m.
To register, click here.

Trump’s National Security Strategy and Russia: The Inevitable Confrontation?
Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018
2:30 p.m.
To register, click here.

Israel and Hexbollah: Preparing for Israel’s Strategic Threat and Unpredictable War
Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018
12 p.m.
To register, click here.

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